Dressed in an off-white Mangalagiri sari with a purple-golden border, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh consecutive Union Budget on Tuesday. She read from a tablet PC encased in the red-colored ‘bahi-khata’ style pouch she has favored for all her Budget speeches, replacing the traditional leather briefcase. This briefcase, called ‘budget’ from the French bougette meaning a small leather bag, was the standard gear for finance ministers before her.
Her 83-minute-long speech, delivered confidently, likely due to her experience and the Prime Minister’s trust in her, was frequently met with applause from the treasury benches. This marked a change from their usual restraint, even in the face of opposition aggression despite their larger numbers.
There were predictable jeers from the opposition, but they did not seem to faze Sitharaman. The 71 rounds of applause she received likely buoyed her spirits. The opposition reserved its loudest boos for the generous proposals for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, chanting slogans like ‘sarkar ko bachane wala Budget’ and ‘sarkar bachao, kursi bachao Budget’ as the FM announced several measures for these states.
Congress and DMK members from Tamil Nadu and Kerala raised demands for relief and rehabilitation for their states, which had been hit by heavy rainfall. They appeared incensed as Sitharaman made some announcements for rain-hit Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand but never threatened a united opposition effort due to their own interests in Bihar and Uttarakhand.
Frequent comments by Trinamool member Saugata Ray and DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran drew the ire of Speaker Om Birla, who issued warnings to both. In the viewers’ gallery, the FM’s daughter Vangmayi Parakala and relatives, including Vidya Lakshminarayan, were present.
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